The Three Questions King Akbar and Birbal

King Akbar was very fond of Birbal. This made a certain courtier very jealous. Now this courtier always wanted to be chief minister, but this was not possible as Birbal filled that position.  One day Akbar praised Birbal in front of the courtier. This made the courtier very angry and he said that the king praised Birbal unjustly and if Birbal could answer three of his questions, he would accept the fact that Birbal was intelligent. Akbar always wanting to test Birbals wit readily agreed.The three questions were

1. How many stars are there in the sky ?2. Where is the centre of the Earth ?3. And how many men and how many women are there in the world ?

Immediately Akbar asked Birbal the three questions and informed him that if he could not answer them, he would have to resign as chief minister.

To answer the first question, Birbal brought a hairy sheep and said, “There are as many stars in the sky as there is hair on the sheep’s body. My friend the courtier is welcome to count them if he likes.”To answer the second question, Birbal drew a couple of lines on the floor and bore an iron rod in it and said, “this is the center of the Earth, the courtier may measure it himself if he has any doubts.”In answer to the third question, Birbal said, “Counting the exact number of men and women in the world would be a problem as there are some specimens like our courtier friend here who cannot easily be classified as either. Therefore if all people like him are killed, then and only then can one count the exact number.”

Artinya :

Raja Akbar sangat menyukai Birbal. Ini membuat punggawa tertentu sangat cemburu. Sekarang punggawa ini selalu ingin menjadi menteri, tapi ini tidak mungkin karena Birbal diisi posisi itu. Suatu hari Akbar memuji Birbal di depan punggawa tersebut. Hal ini membuat punggawa sangat marah dan ia mengatakan bahwa raja memuji Birbal adil dan jika Birbal bisa menjawab tiga pertanyaan, ia akan menerima kenyataan bahwa Birbal cerdas. Akbar selalu ingin menguji Birbals dan Birbal langsung menyetujuinya.

Tiga pertanyaannya adalah:1. Berapa banyak bintang yang ada di langit ?2. Dimana pusat bumi ?3. Dan berapa banyak laki-laki dan berapa banyak perempuan yang ada di dunia?

Segera Akbar meminta Birbal tiga pertanyaan dan memberitahunya bahwa jika ia tidak bisa menjawabnya, ia harus mengundurkan diri sebagai menteri.Untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama, Birbal membawa domba berbulu dan berkata, "Ada banyak bintang di langit karena ada rambut di tubuh domba. Teman saya punggawa tersebut dipersilahkan untuk menghitungnya jika dia suka. "Untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua, Birbal menarik beberapa baris di lantai dan menanggung batang besi di dalamnya dan

berkata, "Ini adalah pusat bumi, punggawa dapat mengukurnya sendiri jika ia memiliki keraguan."Dalam menjawab pertanyaan ketiga, Birbal mengatakan, "Menghitung jumlah pasti pria dan wanita di dunia akan menjadi masalah karena ada beberapa spesimen seperti teman punggawa kami di sini yang tidak dapat dengan mudah diklasifikasikan sebagai. Oleh karena itu jika semua orang seperti dia dibunuh, maka dan hanya maka dapat satu menghitung jumlah yang tepat. "